Akron Wingfoots - NBL - Athletic Grey

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The American Apparel Tri-Blend is the softest, comfiest, and best T-shirt out there. Great vintage feel that gets softer the more you wear it! 50% polyester, 25% cotton, 25% rayon blend.

Unisex sizing. Women may prefer to order one size smaller.

Akron Wingfoots Independent, National Basketball League, National Industrial Basketball League, National Athletic Basketball League (1918-present)The Akron Wingfoots were the company basketball team of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, founded in 1918 by factory workers at the company’s Akron headquarters. Management quickly decided to officially sponsor them, as the Wingfoots were both a good recreational outlet for workers, and a chance to market Goodyear’s new canvas and rubber shoe: the “wingfoot.” They were a founding member of the National Basketball League in 1937 and won a championship in the inaugural 1938 year after defeating the Oshkosh All-Stars 2 games to 1. The fiercest rivals of the Wingfoots were the Akron Firestone Non-Skids, the club team of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. This cross-town match-up was not just an athletic contest, but a symbolic struggle between two industrial titans competing for dominance of the tire market and of Akron. Despite their early championship success, the Wingfoots’ fortunes quickly faded and they finished last in the NBL in 1940. American entry into World War II signaled the end for the Wingfoots, as WWII siphoned off most young athletic men in America, leaving NBL teams with no available players. The team was later re-constituted and enjoyed some success after the war playing in the National Industrial Basketball League. Long-time NBA player and coach Larry Brown was a Wingfoots draft pick in 1963, and Brown led them to an AAU championship.